Bello said he had constituted a committee to mitigate the sale of illegal substances by owners of patent medicine shops.

“Drug abuse is everybody’s concern; government and stakeholders should be more concerned about the well-being of our children,’’ he said.

Also speaking the Chairperson of the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum, Dr Amina Bello, said the centre was part of efforts to equip states in the Northern part of the country to handle drug abuse.

According to her, the forum is committed to ensuring that each state has a treatment and rehabilitation centre to cater for youths who are addicted to drugs.

“We have participated in several workshops and organised workshops and training in our various states.

“Our advocacy has led to the renovation and creation of drug rehabilitation centres in Kogi and Sokoto States respectively,’’ she said.

According to her, the United Nation’s Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) Survey in 2018, revealed that the prevalence of psychoactive substance use in Nigeria was 14.4 per cent with prevalence in North Central region where Niger was situated being as high as 10 per cent.

She said the statistics showed that one out of every four drug users was a woman, with the highest drug use being among young people of between the ages of 25 to 39 years.

The chairperson noted that the forum was ready to contribute its own quota to the fight against the menace.

She said that no nation could progress if its most productive age group was affected by drug abuse.

In his comments, a former Director of Pharmaceutical Services in the state Ministry of Health, Ahmed Mohammed, said that the centre started operations in 1996 with 4,232 patients.

Mohammed said the centre had created awareness on drug abuse and Mental Health and also served as industrial training base for students. RIS/PD/AJA

Diack was in charge of the world athletics governing body during 1999-2015. He was under investigation since 2016, facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a heavy fine. Diack’s former legal advisor and former IAAF anti-doping chief will also appear on court.

The spokesman said the UN-backed government’s forces launched five airstrikes on the eastern-based army in Sirte that destroyed military vehicles of the eastern-based army.

Mohamed Gonono on Friday announced taking over all of western Libya after controlling Tarhuna city, the last stronghold of the rival eastern-based army in western Libya that is located some 90 km southeast of the capital Tripoli, following withdrawal of the rival eastern-based army.

Munther Al-Zawi, a military commander of the UN-backed government’s forces, said that Tarhuna was the biggest threat to the UN-backed government in western Libya, which the eastern-based used as a major hub for military operations.

“Currently, we are chasing the remnants of the militias of Haftar (commander of eastern-based army) fleeing southeast of Tripoli. We will not allow any of his forces to remain in western Libya. Now, things have changed and we will not allow threats from eastern Libya, where Haftar’s is based and launches attacks,” Al-Zawi told Xinhua.

“We do not have any problems with our people in the east, unlike the godfather of chaos Haftar, who caused the loss of thousands of Libyan lives in a losing war only because of his greed for power at any cost,” he added.

Libyan parliament member, Mustafa Abu-Shagour, confirmed that the UN-backed government had defeated an “international coalition” that supported the eastern-based army.

“The 14-month epic fight of Tripoli ended with victory of the defenders of the country over the international coalition that brought mercenaries from all over the world to support Haftar, who wanted to destroy Tripoli and destroy the hope of the Libyans for a state. The Libyan freemen presented convoys of martyrs to repel this brutal aggression on their capital,” Abu-Shagour said in a statement.

The eastern-based army launched a military campaign in April 2019, attempting to take over Tripoli from the UN-backed government.

The fighting killed and injured hundreds of civilians and forced more than 150,000 others to flee their homes.

Bagudu said: “We are at this prestigious and highly revered palace to offer our sincere heatfelt sympathy on behalf of the government and people of Kebbi State.”

He also acknowledged the role played by the Sultan in taking decisions to curtail the spread of the raging coronavirus apart from providing plausible solutions to the recurring security challenges in the country.

Mohammed, who is also the Director, Special Services, said that security operatives, the warring communities, as well as other relevant stakeholders, have similarly agreed on a permanent solution.

According to him, this require a visit to the site and the demarcation of the land by the State Office of the Surveyor-General with clear indications on what belongs to each community to forestall future reoccurrences.

The director commended the timely visit of the commissioner and assured her that the detailed MoU agreement would be forwarded to her office for record purposes, signed by all parties to the agreement.

El-Rufai said that it was only proper for the Ecological Fund to be domiciled with the Ministry, because the fund was meant to fight environmental issues like erosion, deforestation and desertification.

“Apart from that, the ministry has the knowledge, technicality and expertise as well as the national reach to better manage the fund and utilise it for the benefit of the entire country,’’ he said.

El-Rufai revealed that he headed a committee during the first term of the Buhari administration, which recommended the transfer of the Fund to the environment ministry.

According to him, the matter was further tabled before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and a decision was taken on it, but the resolution has not been implemented.

The governor regretted that Kaduna State has lost a lot of its forest in the last few years before the coming of his administration, adding that the state is being re-forested again.

‘’In the last five years, we have been planting 1.5 million trees every year. Only about 50 per cent of the trees survive, but we have not given up.

“It is an investment that we are willing to make for our children and grandchildren,’’ he added.

El-Rufai promised the minister that the state will plant the seedlings and ensure that at least 90 per cent of it survive.

“We will match the number of what the minister donated to the state; in Kaduna state, when we promise to do something, we always deliver on our promise.

“We will invite you next year so that you will see what we have done; you will then know that your donation was not in vain,’’ he added.

Earlier, the minister said that his ministry had promised five million seedlings to Kaduna state in fulfilment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledge to plant 25 million trees across the country.

Abubakar said that the ministry decided to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day with the state because of Gov. El Rufai’s commitment to environmental issues and support to the ministry.

The minister promised that the balance of four million trees will be delivered to the state.

The Lebanese have been suffering from dire economic circumstances in the past few months due to successive failing policies adopted by previous governments which led to an accumulated public debt of over 89 billion United States dollars.

The foundation said Ekiti witnessed minimal human rights violations by security agents, including no record of extra judicial killings as witnessed in some states

It decried the use and involvement of the military in the enforcement of the COVID-19 lockdown directives.

“This is against the tenents of civil engagements, as some of the human rights violations witnessed in the state were mostly perpetrated by the military and the state’s security outfits,” the foundation said.

While commending Courts’ sittings during the COVID-19 lockdown it, however, alleged that violators of the lockdown directives, were denied legal representation.

“This negates the principles of access to justice; particularly, the right to fair hearing as preserved under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).

“That following the gradual ease of the lockdown by the government and the full return to work, that Courts has commenced full sitting in all cases, including corruption cases,” the communique said.

It said that in case of future special duties, security agents, both conventional and state security outfits, should be specially trained by the government before deployment.

The communique said that the military personnel should not be involved by the government in the enforcement of special duties, which were entirely civil in nature.

It said that goverment should categorise lawyers as essential workers, should there be need for future lockdown.